Re: The dowel of death - SAFETY

["Tesla list" <tesla-at-pupman-dot-com>]

Original poster: "Wall Richard Wayne by way of Terry Fritz <twftesla-at-qwest-dot-net>" <rwall-at-ix-dot-netcom-dot-com>

Isn't PVC hydrophilic?  I'm not a plastics guy though.  Maybe some one can fill
us in.  Doesn't current path favor dielectric interfaces?
 
RWW
>
>  
> Today, I went out and bought a 10 foot length of CPVC pipe, 3/4" outside 
> diameter or so. I cut this in half for a 5 foot section. I then shot about 4"
>
> of silicon up inside one end, and it's drying right now.
>  
> When it is dry I will fill the whole thing with high-voltage oil, put a giant
>
> bolt in the other end, and then seal it with more silicone. Never will I use 
> a dowel rod to pull arcs. 
>  
> I would rate this thing VERY conservatively at 80 or 100kVDC with the END 
> SOLIDLY GROUNDED. With the end NOT grounded, I would rate it at 30kVDC max.
>  
> This is a major safety concern.........make for dang sure that the ground 
> wire doesn't come of the end if you're dealing with very high voltages or 
> short arc rods! 

--- Richard Wayne Wall
--- <mailto:rwall-at-ix-dot-netcom-dot-com>rwall-at-ix-dot-netcom-dot-com